[July 07, 2014](Reuters) - A California man said on
Sunday he was “eye to eye” with a great white shark before an attack he
thought would kill him as he swam near Manhattan Beach in Southern
California.

Steven Robles, who suffered chest wounds in the attack on
Saturday, said he was able to pull the 7-foot (2-meter) shark off
his body. The fish came at Robles while caught on a line from a
fisherman who was on a nearby pier.

“I saw it coming real close to me and then it made a very sharp left
turn and lunged right at my chest,” Robles told CNN.

“I saw this shark eye to eye, staring at me as it was crunching into
my chest. Just out of instinct, I took my right hand and grabbed its
nose and tried to pry it off of my chest. And once it released
itself, it disappeared immediately. It didn’t come back.”

Robles is a distance swimmer who each Saturday morning swims between
two piers with friends. Sharks congregate near the pier and the fish
was agitated about being on the line, he said.